The Advantages of Video Conferencing: Why SMBs Should Care

If you believe the old adage that “a picture paints a thousand words”, then it’s not difficult to understand how the advantages of video conferencing have changed how SMBs have approached how they do conferencing. Let’s do the math.

1 picture = 1,000 words

Typical video conferencing framerate = 15 frames per second

Using these estimates, we can assume that video, running on a low bandwidth connection, would communicate 900,000 words a minutes.

Average words a minute for the spoken word = 130

To communicate the same amount of information orally would require five days of nonstop talking.

In a business world that more and more relies on agile practices, conference calls using outdated technology slow down a business. There’s better options out there.

Video calls aren’t exactly a new phenomenon. Consumer options have existed for over a decade, but a lack of quality and scalability has mostly kept the technology from gaining a firm foothold in business. The growth of mobile workforces and online speeds, however, has made it much easier for businesses to finally take advantage of video conferencing and its benefits.

Better Communications = Better Business

Video conferencing allows individuals half a world away to do more than just drone on through audio channels. They can wink, smile, and fervently make hand gestures to get points across. The whole repertoire of human communication can be utilized – increasing engagement, curbing misunderstandings and allowing participants to get their point across without awkward interruptions. According to a study by Blue Jeans Network, 94% of respondents reported face-to-face communications improve business relations.

Higher Engagement

For those who have found themselves nodding away during an audio-only conference call, knowing that roughly 6% of those in audio-only meetings grab some zzz’s shouldn’t be surprising. To put it simply, some conference calls can be boring, painfully so, and those without a stake in the conversation at hand will find a distraction, whether it be other work, social media, video games or sleeping – all of them have been admitted to in varying degrees by respondents in Blue Jeans Network’s survey.

With video conferencing, it’s much more difficult to take part in these activities. While it may not eliminate the age-old problem of “I shouldn’t be in the meeting”, one of the advantages of video conferencing is that it does force participants to pay attention, which ultimately increases engagement and may even convince those who wouldn’t pay attention otherwise to add to the discussion.

Increased Collaboration

The advent of the mobile workforce has spurred technologies that allow easier communications across long distances. Email has evolved. Digital asset management systems have ascended to the cloud. And like the sci-fi authors of yesteryear have foretold, we’re finally communicating with video through our phones – for good reason. Staring at a digital screen for eight hours a day may allow a worker to focus into a task, but it doesn’t always result in the best work due to lack of outside input. Video allows quick and effective collaboration through digital channels. Similar to stopping by a coworker’s desk for a simple brainstorming session, video conferencing gives mobile workers what they need to mold ideas with coworkers and management without losing all the subtleties of body language and facial cues.

Video conferencing may have taken its time to pick up steam in the business world, but today it’s an important tool for an increasingly mobile workforce who rely on digital tools to make better personal connections. While video technology may be more expensive than a typical audio-only model, the advantages of video conferencing include better communication, increases meeting engagement and boosts your workforce’s collaborative abilities. Request a demonstration of so you can see the advantages of video conferencing today.